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University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
UK, LU1 3JU

Dr Christopher Hand

Lecturer 

Dr Christopher Hand I obtained a 1st Class honours degree in Psychology from the University of Glasgow in 2005, before going on to complete an M.Sc. (with distinction) in Research Methods of Psychology, also at the University of Glasgow. My Masters project used eye-movement recording techniques to investigate factors that are involved in controlling the eyes while reading text. I went on to read for a PhD in Psychology (still at Glasgow), investigating features involved in accessing word identities and integrating them into developing sentence structures. My PhD work used a variety of techniques including: reaction time measures, eye movement recording, and recording electrical brain signals.

My research interests mainly involve language processing, in areas such as the importance of word-beginning letters (i.e., words such as ‘dwarf’ with very unusual beginnings vs. words like ‘clown’ with very common beginnings), ambiguous words - words which have one spelling but more than one meaning (i.e., ‘tank’ can mean a water tank, a fish tank or an army tank), and the processing of words which are predictable given the sentence up to that point (i.e., "John went to Tesco and bought a pint of milk" vs. "John went to Tesco and bought a pint of wine").

Qualifications

  • Ph.D Psychology (2006-2009); Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow
  • M.Sc. Research Methods in Psychology (2005-2006; Distinction); Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow
  • M.A. (SocSci) Psychology (2001-2005; Hons. 1st Class); Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow

Teaching Role

  • Unit Co-ordinator, Level 3 Research Dissertation
  • Unit Co-ordinator, Level 1 Psychology in Everyday Life
  • Lecturer and / or class tutor in various units including Research Methods, Foundations to Psychology, Psychology in Everyday Life, Biological and Cognitive Psychology

Research Interests

  • Eye movements during reading
  • Eye movements in face perception
  • The psychology of attraction
  • How words can arouse us
  • The psychology of conformity, obedience, and deceit.

Recent Research Projects

  • Influences of transposed letters on the processing of written information
  • Word-skipping behaviour in eye movements during reading
  • Taboo words: effects on younger vs. older adults’ arousal

Service to the Academic/Professional Community

  • Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • Vice Chair, Department of Psychology Ethics Committee, University of Bedfordshire.

Recent Conference Presentations

  • Hand, C.J., Shahid, A., O’Donnell, P.J., Sereno S.C. (2011).  A reconsideration of the frequency x predictability interaction on fixation durations during normal reading. Presented by C.J. Hand at the 16th European Conference on Eye Movements, University of Marseille, France.
  • Hand, C.J., O’Donnell, P.J., Sereno, S.C. (2009).  Word-initial letter constraint, word frequency, and contextual predictability: Parafoveal-on-foveal effects. Presented by C.J. Hand at the 15th European Conference on Eye Movements, University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
  • Hand, C.J., O’Donnell, P.J., Sereno, S.C. (2008).  The Effect of Word-Initial Letter Constraint on Lexical Access during Reading.  Presented by S.C. Sereno at the 49th Annual Meeting of The Psychonomic Society, Chicago, Illinois.

Recent Publications

  • Hand, C.J., Shahid, A., O’Donnell, P.J., Sereno S.C. (in press). Word-initial letters influence fixation durations during fluent reading. Frontiers in Language Sciences.
  • Hand, C..J, Miellet, S., O'Donnell, P.J., Sereno, S.C. (2010).  The frequency-predictability interaction in reading: It depends where you're coming from. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 36, 1294-1313.

Contact Details

Department of Psychology
Luton campus
Park Square
Luton, LU1 3JU

T: + 44 (0)1582 743055
E: christopher.hand@beds.ac.uk

Bedfordshire University

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